Boys Swim: District Bound

Edmonds-Woodway’s boys’ swim team will be competing Saturday, February 8th and Sunday, February 9th, at the Snohomish Aquatic Center for 3A District Champions. The team has grown immensely this season, beating rivals, consistently breaking records, and they have high hopes of winning districts as a team.

A junior on the team, Yuteng Wang, reports they have broken 2 out of three relay records. Sophomore Jeff Plum, Junior Anton Teplouhov, and Mr. Wang have also set 3 new individual school records. In addition, at the ESD invite, Edmonds Woodway boys’ swim broke 2 relay meet records, with Mr. Wang breaking the 100 butterfly meet record in 53.22 seconds. If the record had been set at state last year, Mr. Wang’s butterfly would have placed in the top 10 fastest times.

The team greatly credits their success to their coach. “We love our coach a lot! He’s like a big brother to a lot of us.” Mr. Wang remarked. Mr. Plum also regards his coach highly and explained that “Our coach has been very supportive and pushes us towards our accomplishments.” Additionally, when asked about his experience on the team, Mr. Plum said enthusiastically that “Being a sophomore I haven’t been on the team for long, but I have enjoyed both years immensely. It’s a very welcoming environment and everyone is treated like family.”

Many of the swimmers juggle intense academic and extra-curricular schedules, all while practicing as a team six days a week for at least two hours a day, including intensive dryland training. Many Edmonds-Woodway swimmers also balance club or competitive swim teams during this time, going right from one pool to another. Mr. Plum explained what makes swim rewarding for the team, “I want people to know how much passion and love we have for the sport. For most of us, we hope to swim in college. Personally, I started off swimming competitively on a club in 7th grade and was the slowest on the team. I’m now one of the fastest sophomores in the state. With hard work and determination, both the team and I personally have blown away many people’s expectations of what we can do.”

Mr. Wang believes after districts this post-season the team will “continue to improve and I predict that next year, we will have individuals who can finish top 5 at state.” Students at Edmonds-Woodway can support the team as they make their journey to state by simply wishing members good luck or giving congratulations. Saturday the 8th however, students can show up to districts and help cheer the team on! To go above and beyond, students can volunteer at the meet to help everything running smoothly.